New Azerbaijan Party

The New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) is a big tent political party in Azerbaijan that was founded in 1992. The party was a post-Soviet party of power, being founded by former First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union Heydar Aliyev. Aliyev ran the country as an authoritarian strongman, presiding over a heavy-handed police state that rigged elections and muzzled the media in order to bring stability to the country. The party focused on maintaining lawlessness, secularism, and nationalism, and it sought to build a social market economy and enforce social justice. Under Heydar Aliyev, the party was conservative, including when it came to culture and religion. In 2017, the party held 69/125 Parliament seats.